The Day the Sky Fell
by keloid123
Summary: The end of Assiah.. But what if certain things had changed/remained the same? Alternate Universe. A glimpse into the 'fates' of Setsuna, Sara, Katou, Kira, Rociel, Mad Hatter, and the other marionettes.


**The Day the Sky Fell**__

_"The sky is falling, the sky is falling!" the people of Assiah cried.  
  
"Look, look. The wretched humans are finally getting what they deserve," the evils of Gehenna snickered, even as their own doom was impending. _

_"Gaze upon the cross, for He is what will save you now. He is here, He is coming. Salvation," preachers preached._

_"We have foreseen this; this is the fate of man," the prophets claimed. _

The world quaked and groaned with unbridled destruction. Pieces of the ground gave way, cracking and splitting.  Tokyo was shaking uncontrollably, as its citizens peered fearfully up at the sky. The comet that loomed before them grew gradually larger and larger as it came closer to the doomed Assiah. Mothers held their children tight, singing their soft lullabies. A melody in words that would comfort, but not save. People felt an onslaught of dread nibble at their minds as they beheld the impossible.  As for the drunkards; they dismissed it all as a dream. For a dream was what it appeared to be, as Assiah continued on its downward spiral to death; the dead souls pouring into Hades like water.

***

"Shit!" Katou spat.

"No need for that, " Uriel said quietly. He was calm, even in the face of a crisis. His face was hard like chiselled stone, showing little emotion. _But its not your home that's being destroyed_, Katou thought angrily. _How can you be so at peace? Its irritating me_.. Katou  turned on Uriel, grabbing the angel's by his collar. He ignored the pain in his sides, the gaping wound that had been carved into him by his own friend. _No, not a friend. That man was Lucifer, not Kira._

"The hell you talking about, 'no need for that'? Goddamn it, there's every need for that. We've failed; Sets-chan has run off somewhere; everyone on Assiah is gonna die,"  Katou said forcefully. He would never admit it, but a hint of desperation had crept into his voice. 

"Let.. Go of me," Uriel ground out. Katou complied, but not until he was given a warning glare from the angel. 

Separated from the Messiah through Rociel and Lucifer's trickery, the pair had been making their way towards heaven. They were hoping that there they could come in contact with the underground rebellion which would lead them to Ratziel, and in turn lead them to Setsuna. As soon as they had arrived, they had been hit with the shocking news. Katou had quite literally torn up the room he was in, stubbornly refusing medical attention and wanting to immediately head towards the source of the crime. Uriel had been sent in to calm him down, lest he destroy himself through his rashness. 

"If I had known this would happen," Katou began acidly. "I wouldn't have ever come back." 

"No," Uriel disagreed. "You didn't come back for peace celebrations. The prevention of Chaos is why you came. _That_ is why you came back. The Messiah called you, brought you back."

            Katou did not respond to that. There were always people that claimed to know him better than he did.  "What's going to happen now? To the balance."

            "I don't know," Uriel answered honestly. "But by destroying all life forms on Assiah so it can begin anew, there will be a large flood of souls rushing into Hades. It was done before, but there are more inhabitants on Assiah  now than there's ever been."

            "So?"

            "Even the strongest dams overflow."

***

            "Mad Hatter! Where are you? Come out!" Kurai demanded. "I know you're here."

Kurai was dreaming. Dreams were dangerous things if one was not careful they could lose themselves in a world of their own creation. She hoped her hunch this time was right. However, when there came no answer from the androgynous jester Kurai began to get a little impatient. She paced back and forth; even if it was a dream she was still restless.  _You better come_, she thought. _I went through all that trouble to knock myself out. Arakunne, Voice, Noise.. I wish you three were still with me. Why did you have to die and leave me? All alone… _  
  


She was about to give up hope, when she heard a most peculiar noise towards her left. She turned her head, and came face to face with the Mad Hatter. The groan had been made by the protesting ground, as it had been forced open to allow the jester entry. Rising from it like a demon from hell.  Indeed, it was most appropriate for a Satan of Jahannam. 

The Mad Hatter gave her an exaggerated, swooping bow.  "What do you request of me, little princess? You called my worthless self to you, and here I am."

Kurai balled her hands into fists. "Do something," her voice sounded almost pleading. "Anything."

"I'm afraid that saving Assiah is quite beyond my power," the Mad Hatter answered idly. 

"Surely," Kurai pressed on, "You can do something. Please… "

The jester flicked a wrist. A single red rose appeared between two readied fingers. 

"You see this rose, little princess? There are many analogies for what I am about to say, but this is my favourite." The jester held out the rose for Kurai to see. "A rose blooms with beauty. Yet it is a dangerous beauty, protected by its own guardians." The Mad Hatter pricked a forefinger on the rose's thorns, letting blood run freely down the finger.

 "As with all beautiful things, it will wilt.  Even with protection it will die, because beautiful things do not have immortality. You know the truth little princess, and you are familiar with destiny. It is just hard for you to accept its latest twist. But such is life." Crushing the petals of the rose, the hand reached out to scatter them before Kurai. Petals whitened and hardened into tiny white bones, beginning to fall in earnest. 

Kurai did not flinch from the morbid shower. "So, after all this time," she said shakily.  "You are just a cheap jester with parlour tricks."

The jester shrugged. "I've never claimed to be anything else, my dear."

_The servant cannot oppose its master, little princess. No matter how one struggles, it is impossible to bring oneself to commit such a crime. The death of Assiah… What does it matter in comparison to my love for you, my lordship? I will always be the same 'Belial' before you._

_[Because that is what I am.]_  
  


***

"Sara and Kira-senpai, where are they?" Setsuna demanded angrily. He held his sword threateningly, knowing full well that he did not possess the trump card to win this battle. He exhibited confidence, but he did not feel any of it inside. Setsuna felt very much alone, and the huge spacious hall with its towering columns did little to help. He should have taken up Michael and Raphael's offer to accompany him, but he had adamantly refused.  Too many had been hurt for his sake already.  _Kira-senpai. Zaphkiel... All because of me…_

Rociel was seated on a throne before him, his poise relaxed. He was not concerned at all with the weapon that was waved in front of his face. Strangely, Katan was nowhere to be seen. The loyal servant rarely left Rociel's side.  _Just as well_, Setsuna thought. _One less enemy present to worry about._

The signs of degeneration on Rociel were very obvious. Veins ran across his pale skin, and his form seemed smaller, more delicate than when Setsuna had seen him last. His eyes were cold, calculating, and full of madness.

"You regard the lord of hell as a _friend_?" Rociel prompted mockingly.  "He mercilessly murdered and tore apart your comrades," he reminded him. 

"You've done something to Kira-senpai," Setsuna accused. "I don't know what, but he is not the Kira-senpai I knew."

"Fool, the demon lord is his true identity. He serves me now..! Alexiel onee-san, why do you not shed your mortal skin?"

            Setsuna glared at him. "My name is Setsuna." 

But Rociel did not seem to have heard him. "Look at me once more.." He cupped his hands to his face possessively. "See.. What you've done to meee..." His last syllables came out at as a low hiss, like a deadly snake.

Setsuna's glare only intensified, along with his frustration. "You're crazy! No one has done anything to you Rociel! You've done this all to yourself-"

"I want to peel you," Rociel interrupted. "I want to peel off that pretty skin like an orange. Until the only thing left is Alexiel's soul. All mine. Mine, mine.."

In an instant Setsuna was by Rociel, the tip of his blade close to the pale white skin of Rociel's throat. "No more playing around," Setsuna said fiercely. "Give Sara back to me."

Rociel licked the blade, as if it was a piece of candy. "Do you remember? Long ago, I promised you I would peel her like an apple, so I could see onee-san once again…"

"No… No! You wouldn't-"

_[Come, come here; into the fruits basket.]_

***

            "Kira, you have really done it this time," Sakuya admonished. With two fingers he adjusted the glasses on his pudgy nose, an action that in reality was not needed. After all, he was just a spirit.

            "That is no longer my name, boy," Lucifer said coldly. "It was worn but once as a human, until he met his end. That alone proves the worthlessness of human emotions." Lucifer absently wiped his bloodied weapon on the shirt of a corpse.  "He felt too much. He grew weak as a human."

            "Yet you feel for Alexiel, you can't deny that," Sakuya continued, trying to change tactics. He wanted to reach him. The true Sakuya that had lived in his body for so many years and had learned to love life… "What about your friends? You remember their faces and you remember their names. Katou, Setsuna, Sara, everyone! And father, surely, you must-"

            "Nothing," Lucifer cut in. "I feel nothing for them. " 

_[You never were… Very good at lying.]_

Owari…?  


  
aieltokio@hotmail.com   
http://www.prettz.org/sanctus


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